David Byrne announces world tour that's 'the most ambitious' since Stop Making Sense
The Talking Heads frontman will touch down in 80 cities — including Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon and Toronto
He's the mastermind behind Stop Making Sense — widely considered one of the best concert films of all time — and now David Byrne has announced a tour that he says is just as ambitious.
The expansive 80-date Utopia tour kicks off March 3 in New Jersey and crisscrosses the U.S., Central and South America, and Europe.
It also includes a number of Canadian stops including Saskatoon (May 19), Edmonton (May 20), Calgary (May 21), Vancouver (May 23) and Toronto (August 3).
The tour coincides with Byrne's upcoming album, American Utopia. The album is the first since Byrne's acclaimed 2004 record Grown Backwards and is part of a larger multimedia project, Reasons to Be Cheerful, which is aiming to give listeners reasons to be happy and optimistic — despite overwhelming political and environmental strife.
Here's the first single, "Everybody's Coming to My House":
"We'll be doing some new songs, & many others that will, I assume, be familiar. I'm excited," wrote Byrne, who is known for his colourful and inventive live shows, in a Twitter post. "This is the most ambitious show I've done since the shows that were filmed for Stop Making Sense, so fingers crossed."
A small # of east coast shows! We’ll be doing some new songs, & many others that will, I assume, be familiar. I’m excited. This is the most ambitious show I’ve done since the shows that were filmed for Stop Making Sense, so fingers crossed. Info @ <a href="https://t.co/B8YgcnekRv">https://t.co/B8YgcnekRv</a> <a href="https://t.co/ehQ41X1MyD">pic.twitter.com/ehQ41X1MyD</a>
—@DBtodomundoThe Talking Heads disbanded in 1991, but Byrne has remained very active in music and the arts. He founded the record label Luaka Bop, launched an internet radio station, wrote a book, held a host of high-profile art exhibits, and at one point even turned the Battery Maritime Building — a century-old ferry terminal in Manhattan — into a playable musical instrument.
He has also been part of numerous musical collaborations, including with Arcade Fire on their 2011 track "Speaking in Tongues" from their album The Suburbs.